PORTLAND — Portland Ovations will bring the Handel and Haydn Society, the oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Founded in Boston in 1815, the society is internationally recognized for its revelatory style of using the instruments and techniques of the composer’s time.

The 3 p.m. concert will feature 15 musicians, including musical director and harpsichordist Ian Watson, in a program of works by J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, William Boyce, Charles Avison and George Frideric Handel.

The society’s mission is to perform Baroque and Classical music at the highest levels. With an esteemed tradition of innovation and excellence, which began in the 19th century with the American premieres of Handel’s “Messiah” in 1818, the society has over the last 20 years given important historical performances of core repertoire. It has also introduced innovative programs to great acclaim.

The Handel and Haydn Society won a Grammy award in 2002 for its recording of Sir John Tavener’s “Lamentations and Praises,” co-commissioned with Chanticleer.

Ovations Offstage will offer a lecture, “Historic Instruments in Contemporary Culture,” with Watson discussing the role of historic instruments in contemporary music culture. The 2 p.m. lecture will be in Hannaford Hall.

Tickets to the concert in Hannaford Hall are $38. They are available by calling 842-0800, visiting the box office at Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., or logging on to www.portlandovations.org

The Handel and Haydn Society, internationally renowned for using instruments and techniques of the composer’s time, will perform Saturday, Oct. 29, at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.